Protests of the Trump administration this weekend could to be the largest in Vermont so far this year, with 6,000 people expected to descend on Montpelier alone, organizers said. Around 20 separate events are scheduled around the state for Saturday, from Burlington to Barton, according to or ganizers. The events, separately organized but collectively called “Hands Off,” are the latest in a series of nationwide, decentralized efforts by activist groups to urge people to take to the streets to oppose Trump’s policies. The organizations include established groups such as MoveOn and more recent web-based upstarts such as Indivisible and 50501. They’re joining forces and so far claim to have 1,000 protests planned across the nation. “We’re mobilizing by the thousands because we’ve had enough,” Bekir Konakovi, an attorney and MoveOn volunteer said during an online training session Wednesday. “This is about sending a clear, peaceful but powerful message to Trump, Musk and their billionaire buddies that we are watching, and we won’t stand for their attacks on our communities.” The protests could be larger than those in response to Vice President JD Vance's skiing trip in the Mad River Valley, which drew international attention. Geri Peterson is the lead organizer in Vermont for 50501, a group that works to hold 50 protests in every state on a single day. The chapter has held three events in the state this year, including the International Women’s Day event on March 8 in Montpelier. “Hands Off is a coalition of different organizations and individuals who feel we need to gather together in common cause to tell the administration we reject what they are doing to this country,” Peterson told Seven Days. “They need to keep their hands off our civil rights, and they need to keep their hands off our reproductive rights.” Peterson said registrations for the Montpelier event, which starts at noon on the Statehouse steps and will be followed by a downtown march, suggest 6,000 or more may attend. Another 1,000 have registered for the Brattleboro event, she said. Anger toward Trump’s policies, from steep tariffs to attacks on workers’ rights to Elon Musk’s slashing of the federal workforce, are contributing to growing outrage and a recognition that mass protests are needed, she said. “Recruit your friends and neighbors and let them know this is the time for everybody to come out and let the administration know that this isn’t OK,” Peterson… ...read more read less